Goal difference alone separates Middlesbrough and Derby County in the Championship table and the two promotion heavyweights will go blow-for-blow at the Riverside tomorrow.

Both sides go into the game off the back of a comfortable 2-0 victory in midweek, Boro seeing off Birmingham to register their fourth win in five and Derby beating QPR to extend their own impressive run of just one defeat in 10.

There will be plenty of intriguing side-stories in the North-east tomorrow as Derby - having lost nine of their last 10 on Teesside - look to banish their recent Boro hoodoo.

Meanwhile Monk's side, having beaten all of the bottom six in the division, are under pressure to replicate that form against the better teams in the division having won just one of their seven games against top-half opponents so far this term.

So what's the team news and major talking points ahead of the game? We take a look:

What's the team news?

Boro manager Monk has no fresh injury concerns for the Rams' visit but will be without midfielder Jonny Howson, who serves a one-match ban.

That could open the door for Adam Forshaw to make his first league start since the defeat to Nottingham Forest in August, while Adam Clayton - whose sudden drop out of the first-team picture has raised plenty of eyebrows - could return to the squad.

The 28-year-old is fit and available for selection, as he has been over the last few weeks according to the club, and will be hoping to make his first league start since the draw at Barnsley on October 14.

Fit-again striker Rudy Gestede is set to feature for the Under-23s on Sunday, as he closes in on a return from a freak thigh injury which his sidelined him for the last three months.

As for Derby, they will be without midfielder Bradley Johnson (hamstring) for tomorrow's game, while Sam Winnal (ankle) is a major doubt too.

But winger Johnny Russell, recovering from an operation on his wisdom teeth, is expected to be available for the in-form Rams.

What are Monk's main selection posers?

Following Wednesday's win over Birmingham, you'd expect changes to be kept to a minimum despite this being Boro's third game in six days.

With no midweek game next week, Boro will have a relatively-clear schedule so Monk may be tempted to go with the same team again, where possible, for the Rams' visit.

The one change he will have to make is in midfield, with Howson banned, while elsewhere the likes of Adama Traore and Marcus Tavernier will be hoping to get the nod ahead of Marvin Johnson on the left wing.

Patrick Bamford.

Boro's defensive quartet - plus goalkeeper Darren Randolph - is more than likely to stay the same, so it's just in those attacking positions where Monk has a few decisions to make.

Bamford's lively cameo off the bench against the Blues gave Monk food for thought, while Chelsea loanee Lewis Baker has not been seen in action for several weeks. Could he make a return?

Can Boro solve their top-half woes?

That's formed the pre-match narrative ahead of the game, that's for sure.

But it's against their direct rivals where Boro have come unstuck this season, winning just one of their seven encounters against sides in the top half.

While Gestede's goal back in August was enough to see off Sheffield United, Boro have since failed to beat Wolves, Cardiff, Aston Villa, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Preston.

That's a concern for everyone on Teesside, but a success over Derby would lay down a marker and mean Boro head into the upcoming games against Bristol City and Ipswich - two more teams looking for a top-six finish - with some momentum.

What's the Derby verdict on Cyrus Christie?

It should be a big occasion for Boro right-back Cyrus Christie this weekend as he locks horns with his former club, with whom he spent three years before heading to the North-east.

Christie was part of the Derby side which twice came close to clinching promotion to the Premier League, but ultimately fell short, and will have a point to prove after leaving Pride Park under something of a cloud in the summer.

The 25-year-old 's final days at Derby were marred by a clash with sections of supporters on social media, after being criticised for saying in an in-depth interview that he was ‘one of the best full-backs in the league'.

The furore that followed saw Christie take to Twitter in defence of his claim, accusing some Derby fans of focusing on one particular comment and glossing over the bulk of the article.

Ahead of the game, Derby boss Gary Rowett was asked about Christie - and said that his departure from the Midlands was "amicable".

"We know all about Cyrus of course, bombing forward,”Rowett said. “He’s a very attacking and a dangerous player.

“We left things very amicably. He perhaps felt he needed a new lease of life and it was our choice to allow that to happen.

“He’s a good player and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He’s proved that as an attacking full-back, he’s one of the best in the division. We wish him all the best.

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Will David Nugent start for the Rams?

Another player set to come up against his former club is striker David Nugent, who helped Boro to promotion in 2015/16 before his plummet down the top-flight pecking order.

The 33-year-old scored some vital goals for Boro during that season, most notably in the 1-0 win over Hull in March, and provided the assist for Cristhian Stuani in the final day promotion decider against Brighton.

But after falling out of Boro's Premier League picture under Aitor Karanka, Nugent opted to pursue his career elsewhere - and he is in fine form for Derby ever since joining the Rams.

He is likely to be partnered by Matej Vydra on Saturday,

What's Gary Rowett been saying in the build-up?

As you'd expect, the Derby boss has had plenty of nice things to say about his Boro counterpart, but has stressed how "smashing the Championship" - chairman Steve Gibson's pre-season desire - was always going to be a long shot.

"(Monk) is a very good manager and got some good experience in the Premier League with Swansea,” Rowett said.

“He’s doing a good job up there. Regardless of whether you’ve come down from the PL, it’s a tough division.

Derby County manager Gary Rowett (Image: Sunday Mirror)

“They’re starting to find their feet now and make a bit of headway, like we are, and will be in and around it this season.

"I understand that positivity but of course we all know the Championship, I don't think anybody 'smashes' the Championship as it's such a tough league.

"Wolves are having a good go but it's tough, we know Boro are one of the strongest teams in the division with players who can hurt any team so we'll have to go and play very well to get a positive result."

How have Derby fared in the North-east recently?

Not well at all.

In fact, Derby's last victory at Boro came back in 2000 on an afternoon when Malcom Christie scored twice for the Rams in a 4-1 away win.

Since then, they've lost nine of their 10 matches at the Riverside - most recently going down 2-0 in January 2016 in a game that saw the wheels start to come off Steve McClaren's promotion-chasing hopefuls.

The season before that, Boro again ran out 2-0 winners on an afternoon when Ryan Shotton, now at Boro, was sent off in the first half.

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Captain Grant Leadbitter and Patrick Bamford - an ex-Derby loanee - were both on target that day as Boro returned to the top of the Championship table.

Derby have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 17 visits to the North-east in all competition - an alarming run that stretches back to 1989.

What are the key battles?

In terms of potential match-winners, Britt Assombalonga is a man in sublime form after extending his personal tally for the season to 11 in midweek.

By scoring a brace against Birmingham, he became the quickest Boro player to hit double figures since Marvin Emnes in 2011, the fourth time in his career that he's managed to notch 10+ before the end of November.

Boro's £15m record signing has five goals in his last five matches, and is now just six goals away from matching Patrick Bamford's league record tally in a Riverside season.

Britt Assombalonga (Image: Evening Gazette)

Assombalonga will be attempted to be shackled by defensive duo Richard Keogh and Curtis Davies, while at the other end of the pitch it's Vydra who's the Rams' main goal threat.

Vydra has scored eight goals already this season, as many as he managed in his previous two campaigns combined, and will be ably assisted in the final third by Nugent and Tom Lawrence, on target in their win over QPR in midweek.

That means Christie is set for an important afternoon, while in midfield, Tom Huddlestone will go head-to-head with Leadbitter.

What are the experts predicting?

There's nothing to choose between the sides in the table, and Sky Sports' Championship expert David Prutton thinks that'll prove the case on-the-pitch on Saturday too.

In his weekly predictions, he has backed an entertaining 2-2 draw.

"It looks like things have come together for these two sides, despite Middlesbrough's disappointing loss at Leeds at the weekend, and they'll both be challenging for at least the play-off places this season," he said.

"The only thing separating the two heading into the weekend is the all-important invisible line between sixth and seventh in the table, and it could be just as tight as that on the pitch. I fancy an entertaining draw."